Accounting system

ABSTRACT

An accounting system includes client modules pre-configured for client use, which can be used without client configuration. Each client module has interface forms for entering transaction records. Pre-assigned transaction category codes are stored on a storage medium. Code selectors are entered through use of the transaction entry forms. A client chart of accounts allows selection of an account for association with transaction records. Accounts are predetermined by the clients or in accordance with accounts of trading types prenominated by the clients. Each account includes a unique account identification and description prescribed by the client or generally adopted by traders in the trading type. Each category code is pre-specified as taxed/non-taxed, and as expenditure/income. The system can obtain information on tax liabilities of the transaction records through prompts associated with transaction category codes that have tax liabilities, and extracts the entered information for tax liabilities of the transaction.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

THIS INVENTION relates to an accounting system for processingtransactions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For many years, operators of small and medium enterprises (SME) havebeen performing manual bookkeeping work for transaction records. Thebooks containing the transaction records are then given to theoperators' accountants for preparing accounts statements and taxreturns.

Recent changes in taxation law, especially the introduction of the Goodsand Services Tax (GST) which requires businesses to collect GST in anytransaction that attracts this tax and to submit periodic BusinessActivities Statements (BAS), have made manual bookkeeping tasksextremely complex. Consequently, SME operators, in general, haveresorted to use a computerised accounting system to enter transactionrecords so that the records can be processed for generating reports fortheir accountants and the tax authority.

To use the computerised accounting system effectively and to produceaccounts reports that are acceptable to accountants and the taxauthority, the operators not only have to learn basic computer skills,but also accounting terms and procedures employed in their accountingapplication software and taxation liabilities appropriate for theirbusinesses.

The application software must also be configured to suit accountingpractices of individual SME operators. That means the operators mustacquire the necessary knowledge in accounting practice and tax law inorder to configure the application software to use the accountingprocedures and tax liability options that suit their businesses.

The application software is intended for general use and employs commonaccounting terms for transactions. Consequently, the SME operators canno longer use the transaction item descriptions they have adopted fortheir manual bookkeeping system. This represents a major disadvantagefor most of the SME operators who now must spend time familiarising withnew accounting terms that they are unfamiliar of. Transaction entryerrors often occurs when using unfamiliar terms to enter transactionrecords. The errors can be very difficult to trace and correct.

With the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST), the computerisedaccounting system has become more complicated for the SME operators asthey must now act as collection agents for the GST. To set up theaccounting system for generating BAS, SME operators must configure theapplication software with appropriate tax liabilities of goods andservices that attract GST and other taxes. These requirements placeheavy burdens on SME operators. In addition, many of them do not havesufficient knowledge to determine which transaction items attract GSTand which do not. They also do not have the necessary knowledge toallocate transactions in order to correctly report the GST, Pay As YouGo (PAYG) Withholding and PAYG Installments in the BAS.

Periodically, the entered transaction records need to be reconciled withbank records. The reconciliation process is not generally understood bySME operators, and is time consuming.

The known computerised accounting system is for processing accountsreports only. It would be desirable to use information obtainable fromtransaction records to perform management related functions.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to alleviate or to reduce to acertain level one or more of the aforementioned prior art disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect therefore the present invention resides in an accountingsystem including at least one client module for use by a client. The atleast one client module has transaction entry means for enteringtransaction records, pre-assigned transaction category codes beingstored on a storage medium, means for selecting a pre-assigned categorycode to associate with a transaction record to be entered through thetransaction entry means, and a client chart of accounts for selection ofan account to which the transaction record is to be associated, theaccounts being predetermined by the client or in accordance withaccounts of at least one trading type prenominated by the client. Eachof said accounts include a pre-allocated unique account identificationand an account description which is prescribed by the client orgenerally adopted by traders in said at least one trading type, and eachof said category codes is pre-specified as a taxed or non-taxed, and asan expenditure or income transaction type.

In another aspect therefore the present invention resides in anaccounting system including at least one client module for use by aclient. The at least one client module has transaction entry means forentering transaction records, and means for obtaining informationrelevant to tax liabilities of the transaction records. Said informationobtaining means has one or more prompts associated with each of aplurality transaction category codes that have tax liabilities, and isarranged to present the associated one or more prompts for enteringinformation relevant to tax liabilities when one of said category codeis nominated for a transaction to be entered, and to extract the enteredinformation for allocating tax liabilities of the transaction.

Preferably, said one or more prompts are in the form of one or moreleading questions for the client to enter said relevant tax liabilityinformation in a designated location(s), and the at least one clientmodule is arranged to extract the entered information at said designatedlocation(s) and apply a tax liability determination procedure which isspecific for the or each extracted information from said designatedlocation(s).

It is preferred that the at least one client module has reportgenerating means arranged to access the entered transaction records forgenerating accounting reports. More preferably, the report generatingmeans includes a report selection arrangement for selecting any one of anumber of accounting reports for generation.

In preference, at least one of said taxed category codes ispre-allocated to taxation segments for a taxation report, being one ofthe accounting reports. More preferably, said taxation report is aBusiness Activity Statement (BAS) that complies with the Goods andServices Tax (GST). Where a taxed category code having a variabletaxation allocation is entered, it is preferred that a window withappropriate prompts for specifying amounts to be allocated is presentedentering the amounts.

Said at least one trading type may include trading activities involvingthe provision of goods and/or services relating to any class ofbusiness. Examples of the business classes are accountancy, hardwareretail and wholesale, electrical goods and repair services, plumbingsupplies and services, health care goods and services, mechanical repairservices, transportation goods, etc.

It is further preferred that the category codes include a category forwages and the wage category is associated with a wage account in saidclient chart of accounts. Accordingly, the system according to thepresent invention also functions as payroll package.

The system may have storage means for storing the transaction recordsand is arranged for accessing bank statement records over acommunications network. The at least one client module may havereconciliation means for reconciling said stored transaction recordswith the bank statement records.

Preferably, the system includes at least one adviser module havingreport generating means being arranged to access transaction recordstransferred from the at least one client module for generatingaccounting reports and management reports. More preferably, the reportgenerating means includes a report selection arrangement for selectingany one of a number of accounting and management reports for generation.

The system may also include an administration module for administeringsaid at least one client module, and the administration module and theat least one client module are arranged for communication over acommunications network, The administration module has a master chart ofaccounts from which the client chart of accounts is extracted, and chartgenerating means for generating said master chart of accounts inaccordance with a user's determination. It is preferred that the clientchart of accounts is locked so that the account identifications and theaccount descriptions therein can not be altered.

It is further preferred that the administration module has a transactioncode generating means for generating the transaction codes as specifiedby the user.

The system may have a number of client modules in communication with theadministration module. Each of the client modules has a unique clientreference and is adapted to transfer sales orders and/or purchase ordersthrough the administration module. Each of said sales orders and/orpurchase orders including a client reference of a purchasing clientmodule and a client reference of a supplier client module. Theadministration module may have a coordination unit arranged to use theclient references to transfer a purchase order from the purchasingclient module to the supplier client module and to transfer asubsequently received invoice from the supplier client module to thepurchasing client module. It is preferred that payment of the invoice isalso transfer through the administration module so that the coordinationunit has a record that the invoice has been settled.

Accordingly, the system of the present invention can store transactioninformation between suppliers and purchasers. The coordination unit canthus be arranged to automate purchase orders when stocks fortransactions are below predetermined levels.

Preferably, the or each said client module is associated with an advisermodule which is also arranged to be in communication with theadministration module so that the transaction records of the associatedclient(s) can be accessed remotely.

The at least one client module may be a cash book module or an accrualmodule or a combined cash book and accrual module, or a payroll moduleor a point of sale module, or any combination of two or more of saidmodules.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the present invention can be readily understood and putinto practical effect the description will hereinafter refer to theaccompanying drawings which illustrate non limiting embodiments of thepresent invention and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the accountingsystem according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flow diagrams showing steps in configuring acashbook module for the system of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B schematically show the procedure in locating clientdatabases in the system of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 to 4B are interface forms for entering payment and receipt; FIG.4C shows an example of a transaction table with transaction informationentered in the interface forms shown in FIGS. 4 to 4B;

FIGS. 5 to 5C are flow diagrams of steps in creating a client module;

FIGS. 5D to 5Q are interface forms for creating and maintaining clientmodules;

FIG. 5R is report listing available headers for accounts;

FIG. 5S is a report of selected accounts;

FIG. 6 shows operational steps in creating and maintaining accountsfiles;

FIG. 6A shows the operational steps of the script manager;

FIGS. 6B to 6F are some interfaces for the steps shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 7A shows the client verification procedure in the client module;

FIG. 7B is a flow diagram of steps in the Payment Entry and ReceiptEntry options;

FIG. 7C shows examples of the procedures for prompting the user toprovide information for the Receipt Entry option;

FIG. 7D shows examples of the procedures for prompting the user toprovide information for the Payment Entry option;

FIGS. 7E and 7F show the steps in accounts reconciliation;

FIG. 8A is an interface form for receipt entry;

FIG. 8B is an interface form for payment entry;

FIGS. 8C to 8S are interface forms with prompts for entering informationfor Receipt Entry and Payment Entry, and for accounts reconciliation;

FIGS. 8T to 8Y are some examples of reports that are available;

FIG. 9A in an example of the main interface for the general ledger;

FIG. 9B is a flow diagram of options available in the general ledger;

FIG. 9C shows the steps in processing GST components to the generalledger;

FIGS. 9D to 9F are examples of some of the general ledger reports;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram showing steps for online transfer of apurchaser order and a supplier invoice through the administrationmodule;

FIG. 10A shows steps in a standard cost process;

FIG. 10B is an overview of an embodiment of an accounts accrual system;

FIGS. 10C to 10F show procedures for the debtor related operations ofthe accrual system;

FIG. 10G shows the procedure for a purchase order;

FIG. 10H shows a procedure for credit payment;

FIGS. 10I to 10N show the procedures for an extended point of salesystem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to the drawings and initially to FIG. 1 there is shown anaccounting system 10 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The system 10 has a number of client modules 12 operating oncomputers, a number of advisor modules 13, and an administration module14 operating on a server computer system 14 which may be arranged asshown in FIG. 33. The server system 14 and an administrator unit 16 areconnected in a local area network. The client module 12 is connected tothe server system 14 through the World Wide Web including the Internet18. As can be seen some of the advisor module 13 can be formed of agroup of networked computers.

The adviser modules 13 can access the server system 14 to transferinformation to the server system 14 for configuring the client module 12and to retrieve transaction information of the associated client module12.

Typically, each of the client modules 12 include a cashbook module, andthe advisor module 13 of a client module 12 is managed by a professionalaccountant who advises the accounting procedures and tax liabilityoptions that are appropriate to the client. Each of the advisor modules13 would also be provided with account descriptions that the client isfamiliar with. To request the administration module 14 to configure oredit a client module 12, the accountant can use the adviser module 13 totransfer the client's account requirements to the administration module14. The information provided to set up the master chart of accountswould include any private percentage to be applied to an account and ifso which ledger account the private portions are to be allocated. Theaccountant would also advise the following where applicable:

-   -   Cash or Accrual BAS reporting    -   Small food retailer percentage    -   Predominant Long Term Commercial Accommodation    -   New Motor Vehicles purchased before 23 May 2001    -   Hire purchase start before 1 Jul. 2000    -   Hire purchase new motor vehicle before 23 May 2001    -   Particulars of predetermined GST status (eg Property lease)    -   Bank reconciliation

The account requirements provided by the accountant are used to set up amaster chart of accounts for the client. From the master chart ofaccounts, the accounts for use by the client are identified forgenerating a user chart of accounts.

If the client does not use an accountant he/she can either provide therequired information for configuring a user chart of accounts or simplynominate a trading type of his/her business-activities and theadministration module 14 would automatically configure a default userchart of accounts based the known account configurations of mostbusinesses in the same trading type.

FIG. 2A shows the flow of information between a client who wishes toconfigure a client module 12, an advisor (accountant in this case)module 13 and the administration module 16. As can be seen, the clientand the accountant exchange information regarding the client's accountrequirements and the accountant accordingly uses a journal maintenanceunit 20 to create a general journal for this client. In this respect,the client can provide his/her own descriptions of accounts that arefamiliar to him/her by using the requester 22 and/or scripter 24.

The accountant then uses a requester unit 22 of the advisor module 13 toselect the appropriate accounts from a master chart of account to beconfigured for a client chart of accounts having the accountdescriptions that are familiar to the client. The administration module14 on receiving the request from the account creates a client databasefor the client chart of accounts and configures a client module 12 usingthe client chart of accounts having the account descriptions that arefamiliar to the client. Accordingly, when delivered the client cansimply install and use the client module 12 without the labourious anderror prone tasks of configuring the client module 12 and determiningtax liabilities of the accounts. The client module 12 is also set up tocommunicate with the administration module 14 over a communicationsnetwork such as the World Wide Web (WWW) 18.

The client module 12 has a scripter unit 24 for initiating a request toedit the description of any account in the client chart of accounts. Therequest to edit is either transferred directly to the administrationmodule 14 (where an advisor module 13 is not linked to a client module12) or to the advisor module 13 for registering at the advisor module 13before forwarding to the administration module 14 for editing theaccount.

In FIG. 2B, the client module 12, the advisor module and theadministration module 14 are arranged to communicate over acommunications network including the WWW 18 so that the administrationmodule 14 is directly responsive to any request from the client module12 or the advisor module 13.

FIG. 3A shows the procedure for a client module 12 to locate the servercomputer of the administration module 14 where its accounts records arestored. The system 10 uses a communications service which allows itsnetworked modules 12 and 13 to make remote procedure calls (RPC) to theserver computer of the administration module 14. Uses of the RPC mayinclude enumerating Users and Databases, and accessing other informationnot available via the client database, including information from theadministration module 14 and/or the administration database. Inaddition, RPC allows potentially sensitive database or other operationsonto the server and away from the client modules 12 and the advisormodules 13, such that sensitive information is never sent over thenetwork.

RPC uses HTTP or HTTP over SSL for communication and uses an obscureport for its Server endpoint. Clients can determine the address and portof this endpoint by using DNS SRV (Service Location) lookups for_eclatrpc._tcp.eclat.net.au.

To locate its accounts records on the administration module 14, a clientmodule 12 do the followings:

1. Enter the client module name (for Example, Barry's Big Bins might bebarrysbigbins). This will be referred to as the IDB Name.

2. Append The IDB Name to system Domain Name. (iebarrysbigbins.eclat.net.au. This will be referred to as an IDB DNS Name.

3. Using RFC, the system 10 attempts to determine a list of possibleservers to connect to. In particular, a record such as_database._tcp.barrysbigbins.eclat.net.au should return 1 or moreAddress Records specifying valid Accounting Servers, as shown in FIG.3A.4. The client can then select and connect to a Database Server to accessits records using the IDB Name.

At this point, the client module 12 has all the information required tomake a connection to the administration module 14 to locate its accountsrecords. The client can make a connection to the server of theadministration module 14 in the following way:

5. The client retrieves the Hostnames, IP Addresses, and Ports ofSuitable Servers (This information is returned from DNS SRVQueries—Above)

6. Check weighting and priority from the SRV reply. Select the serverwith the lowest Priority and Weighting. If multiple servers are returnedwith the same Priority and Weighting (ie a Cluster) randomly select oneof these records. If only one record is returned we must use it.7. The client makes a suitable connection to an IP Address/Port pair.8. Once the connection is established, the client MUST authenticateusing their SYSTEM credentials.

An advisor module 13 such as that of an account may have permission tocontrol 1 or more Client Databases. As a consequence, the module 13should enumerate all databases to which they have access, and allow theaccount to select a particular database.

The following set of procedure steps describes how the account canenumerate the client databases:

1. Using RFC and the DNS Name: _eclatrpc._tcp.eclat.net.au, a list ofpotential RPC Servers can be found.

2. Client randomly selects 1 server from the list of RPC Servers. Thisselection may be prioritized or weighted.

3. Client Makes a request to an RPC server (ie/_eclat_bin/catalbgList/?)

4. RPC Backend Server processes the request and builds a response

5. Client receives the response, and can now process or parse theresponse, as shown in FIG. 3B.

Each client module 12 a transaction database with the followingtransaction fields:

Field Description Record ID A unique identifier for an entiretransaction Client ID The client ID for which this transaction occurred(optional) Trading type ID of types of normal business activities ofclient Product ID The product ID for this row in the transaction(optional) Invoice ID The invoice ID for this row in the transaction(optional) Quantity The quantity of items sold (optional) SPU (reservedfor later use) Original Invoice Total The original amount on the invoice(optional) Amount Owing The amount left owing on the invoice (optional)Payment Total The total amount for this transaction Tran Head Entry Isthis row the header row for the transaction Payee Name The payee namefor the transaction Payment Type The payment method Payment Type DetailsAny extra details about the payment method, i.e. Cheque number Paid ToDescribes the payee info field Payee Info Describes the payee SourcePayment The source accounts description Reference Extra information onthe payment method Receipt To What module does the payment/receipt go toReceipt Details Extra information about the receipt Locked Has thistransaction been reconciled? Accounting Method Which module does thetransaction belong to? Overwrite (reserved for later use) Bank BranchThe branch number for the bank account Bank Department The departmentnumber for the bank account Branch The branch number for the destinationaccount Department The department number for the destination accountEntry Date The date of the transaction Age How old is the transaction?Period Which period (financial month) does the transaction belong? TypeIs this a payment, a receipt or a general journal entry Amount What wasthe amount of the row for Description The destination accountsdescription Amount Withheld The amount that was withheld Interest Theamount of interest Principal The amount of principal Stamp Duty Theamount of stamp duty Voluntary Agreement The amount that was due to avoluntary agreement Instalment Amount The instalment amount GST AmountThe amount of GST Items Sold The amount that was due to items sold GSTPaid The amount of GST that was paid Pre 28 The amount that was attainedbefore 28 May 2000 TFN Amount Withheld The amount withheld from the taxfile number AW Amount Withheld (reserved) Margin Amount The marginamount for this account Capital The amount of capital gains tax TaxedOther The amount of taxed other Input Taxed The amount of input taxInput Tax Sales The amount of input tax due to sales No GST The amountof no GST Private The amount that was private Non GST Reportable Theamount that is NON GST Reportable GST The amount of GST GST Suspense Theamount of GST in suspense Wage Clearing The amount of PAYG WithholdingWage Clearing (2) The amount of other withholdings ABN Withhold Theamount withholding from the ABN GL Amount The general ledger amountExport Supply The export supply amount GST Free The GST free amount GSTPre The amount of pre GST Tax Supply The amount of tax supply InstalmentIncome The amount of instalment income Account ID The destinationaccount ID Account Header ID The destination account header IDOutstanding Is the row outstanding? Tran Code What was the Code of thedestination account? Private Use Only Is this row a sub row that is usedfor GST balancing purposes Suspense Moved Has the suspense been moved toNON GST reportable

Each client module 12 also has a client chart of accounts with thefollowing accounts fields:

Field Description Branch The branch number for this account DepartmentThe department number for this account COY The company number (reserved)Account ID The account id of this account in the form of XXXX.XXXXAccount Description A 40 character description for the accountDebit/Credit Is this account a DEBIT or CREDIT account Post Is thisaccount a posting account End Of Year This field determines what is donewith the data after the financial year Comments Any comments for thisaccount GST Split The private portion percentage for this account GroupID The entity ID that this account belongs to (0 = all) SP Status Isthis account a bank account Retention The retention account ID Code TheE or I code that applies to this account Extended Code An extended codefor miscellaneous account options i.e. CA = Capital Open Status Is thisaccount an open status account Credit Total The opening credit on thisaccount Debit Total The opening debit on this account Saved Total Usedto temporarily store current balances for each account Must Select Thisfield is 1 if this account must be selected when its entity is selectedSelected Is this account selected for use Taxed Acquisition % The taxedacquisition percentage that applies to this account Source Is thisaccount identified as a source account in requester New Account ID Ifthis account is a new account from requester what is its ID

The system 10 uses account category codes for identifying transactioncategories. In this embodiment, the following category codes areemployed.

Code Description Type E01 General Expense E02 Wages Expense E03Non-Reportable Expense E04 GST Paid Up Front Expense E05 Included StampDuty Expense E06 Loan Expense E07 Hire Purchase - [ACCRUALS] Expense E08Hire Purchase - [CASH] Expense E09 Motor Vehicle Registrations ExpenseE10 GST Free Expense E11 Voluntary Agreement Expense E12 Input TaxedExpense E13 Private NON Deductible Expense E14 Airfare Tax Expense E15Taxed Acquisition Expense E16 (reserved) Expense E17 (reserved) ExpenseE18 GST Suspense Expense E19 (reserved) Expense E20 (reserved) ExpenseI01 General Income I02 Small Food Retailer Income I03 NON ReportableIncome I04 Export Supply Income I05 Input Taxed Income I06 Tax SupplyIncome I07 Pre Jan. 7, 2000 Income I08 GST Free Income I09 Long-termAccommodation Income I10 Predominately LTCA Income I11 Margin SchemeIncome I12 TFN Withholding Income I13 (reserved) Income I14 GST SuspenseIncome I15 LTCA Input Taxed Income I16 Cost of Goods Sold Income I17(reserved) Income I18 (reserved) Income I19 (reserved) Income I20(reserved) Income

Shown below are examples of some accounts in a master chart of accountsand a client chart of accounts for a butcher:

Master chart for accounts for Sales trade Account ID Acc DescriptDescription 1100.0000 Sales Header 1100.1000 Sale of goods to customersGeneral with Instalment Income 1100.1001 Sales to Australian Generalwith Instalment Income customers 1100.2000 Sale second hand goods TaxSupply with Cost of Good Sold 1100.2001 Sale of new goods General withInstalment Income 1100.2002 Sale 2nd hand goods Tax Supply with Cost ofGood costing over $300 Sold 1100.2003 Sale 2nd hand goods Tax Supplywith Instalment costing under $300 Income 1100.2004 Sale 2nd hand goodsfrom GST Suspense with Instalment global pool income 1100.3000 Sale ofgoods on General with Instalment Income consignment 1100.3001 Sale ofnew goods on General with Instalment Income consignment 1100.3002 Sale2nd hand goods on Tax Supply with Cost of Goods consignment Sold1100.4000 Small food retailer sales Small Food Retailer with InstalmentIncome 1100.4001 Sale of pet food Tax Supply 1100.4003 Sale of freshmeat GST Free

Client chart of accounts for a Butcher—Sales Trade

Account ID Acc Descript Description 1100.0000 Sales Header 1100.4001Sale of pet food Tax Supply 1100.4003 Sale of fresh meat GST Free

FIG. 4 shows an example of using a client's description of an account(insurance general in this case) for an E05 category code transaction.When the first row in the Amount field is selected, the client module 12retrieves and shows details of the relevant transaction as shown in FIG.4A. FIG. 4B shows the details of the Amount in the second row.

Each client module 12 applies an appropriate tax formula to calculatetax liabilities of a transaction. The following table lists some of thetax formulae:

Field Formula GST GSTFromInclusive(CalcExPerc(txtsdTaxedAcq.Value,GSTSplit), GSTMargin) TaxedOther CalcExPerc(txtsdTaxedAcq.Value,GSTSplit) No GST CalcExPerc(txtsdGSTFree.Value, GSTSplit) PrivateCalcPerc(txtsdTaxedAcq.Value, GSTSplit) + CalcPerc(txtsdGSTFree.Value,GSTSplit) + CalcPerc(txtsdStampduty.Value, GSTSplit), GL AmountiOrigAmount − (CalcPerc(txtsdTaxedAcq.Value, GSTSplit) + CalcPerc(txtsdGSTFree.Value, GSTSplit) + CalcPerc(txtsdStampduty.Value,GSTSplit)) Non GST txtsdStampDuty.Value Reportable

Each client module 12 is arranged to generate transaction reports ofselected transactions. Using the FIG. 4 transactions, the module 12 cangenerate a report as shown in FIG. 4C.

FIG. 5 shows the steps applied in the requester unit 22 for creating aclient database of a client module 12 using the relevant fields as shownbelow.

Field Description General Client Information Full Name Full Name ofClient Trading Name Trading Name of Client Address Clients Address PhoneNumber Clients Phone Number ABN ABN of related business Licence TypeThis option allows the Accountant to select which version of the programthey wish to use, they have the option of Multi Users or Single User.This option determines whether or not they are allowed to have multipleusers using their database at a time Reporting Method Reporting methodfor client, two option Cash or Accruals Year The financial year thatthis database is intended for AS Variables Company/Fund Deferred ATOprovided figure for the client Value PAYG Commissioner ATO determinedinstalment rate Rate Fringe Benefit tax Accountant determined fixedfringe benefit instalment value amount GST Free Rate Small business GSTFree concession Modules to Include In Package Cashbook (base system)General Cashbook/General Ledger system - this must be included AccrualsAccrual accounting system including inventory Achievement Model Businessmanagement model Assets Resource Management Budget Financial ForecastingManufacturing Process Standard and Variance Analysis Point Of Sale Pointof Sale Incorporating both Retail and Wholesale Provisions AccruedExpenses Payroll/Personnel Personnel Management System Step 3 FieldsEntity Components Club or Association (self explanatory) Company (selfexplanatory) Consolidation (self explanatory) Adjustment ManufacturingAccount Includes accounts used for manufacturing purposes Partnership(self explanatory) Sole Trader (self explanatory) Superannuation Fund(self explanatory) Trading Account Includes accounts used for tradingpurposes Trust Discretionary (self explanatory) Trust Unit (selfexplanatory) Partner Fields ID A unique identifier for the partner, thisfield is automatically User Name A user name for this partner Name Thefull name of this partner Share The shared percentage of profits thatthis partner is distributed Comments Any comments associated with thispartner Step 6 Fields (Section 1) Reconciliation Details AccountSelected bank accounts for this reconciliation entry Description Type ofitem Amount The amount for the reconciliation entry Reference Referencepoint for this reconciliation entry Step 9 Fields (Submission) EmailSettings Username The clients Username for their SMTP serverauthentication Password The clients password for their SMTP serverauthentication SMTP The clients SMTP server for their ISP SMTP Port Theclients SMTP port number for their ISP Email Address The clients fullreply email addressAppendix E—Account Editing Fields

Account Editing Fields Field Description Editable Branch The branchnumber for which this account No belongs Department The departmentnumber for which this No account belongs Account ID The account IDnumber of this account No Acc Descript The description that the clientYes will see for this account Private % The private portion allocated toother accounts - Yes double click the row to change this field CommentsAny comments associated with this account Yes Field Description Step 6Fields (Section 2) New Account Details - Header Information Type Thetype of the new account from the list Name A descriptive name for thenew account Header Account The header account for which this new accountshould belong DebitThe opening debit amount on the account¹ CreditTheopening credit amount on the account² New Account Details - PrivatePortions Description A description for the reason of the privatepercentage Percentage The percentage that should be allocated to thedestination account Destination Account The destination account forwhich this private portion should be allocated Account Setup FieldsAccount Selection Fields Setup Has this account been set up yet, theuser cannot submit until all accounts have been set up. Branch Thebranch number of this account Department The department number of thisaccount Account ID The account id for this account Description The nameof this account Account Type The type of set up that is required forthis account Account Codes Used In Setup Form E07 Hire Purchase(Accruals) E08 Hire Purchase (Cash) E03 Non Reportable Expense I15Predominant LTCA (Input Taxed) I10 Predominant LTCA (5.5%)

The steps of the requester unit 22 are described in more details inFIGS. 5A to 5Q. FIG. 5R shows parts of an example of the AvailableAccounts report, and FIG. 5S shows parts of an example of the SelectedAccounts report.

FIG. 6 shows the steps taken by the administration module 14 in creatingand maintaining client databases, and in responding to the requests fromthe requester unit 22. The administration module 14 thus provides theoption of opening an existing client database for viewing or maintainingthrough step 26, the option for a registered advisor (accountant) tocreate new client modules and to maintain client account databasesthrough step 28, and the option of creating a new client module 12 inresponding to a request from the requester unit 22 though steps 30 and32. In all options, a script step 34 is entered in which theadministration module 14 will perform the tasks of opening the existingaccounts file named in the step 26, or to create a new client accountsfile as requested by the requester unit 22 in the steps 30 and 32.

When creating a new client accounts file, the administration module 14checks for whether accounts details for the new file are provided in therequest and if not, whether there is a specified trading type in therequest. If accounts details are present, the module 14 extracts therelevant information from the provided accounts details forincorporation into the new file. If the accounts details have not beenprovided and there is a specified trading type, the module 14 selectsdefault accounts details for the trading type for incorporation into thenew file. Where neither accounts-details nor a trading type are provide,the module 14 prompts the requester for the required information.

A script maintenance step 36 is entered for performing accounts filemaintenance tasks as illustrated in FIG. 6A. Any of the followingaccounts fields can be added, edited or deleted as illustrated in steps38 to 46.

Field Description Account Fields Branch The branch ID number for whichthis account belongs Department The department ID number for which thisaccount belongs COY The company number for this account (reserved)Account ID The account identification number, the sub account number ofthis number will default to XXXX, clicking the ( . . . ) button insidethis field will allocate it with the next available number for thatheader account. Acc Descript A short (1-40 chars) description of theaccount DR_CR This field should be DEBIT or CREDIT Post Does thisaccount get included in the financial reports EOY There are four optionsfor this field: RETAIN - Will carry the closing balance to the Retentionaccount at the end of the financial year HOLD - This account will holdits closing balance at the end of the financial year ZERO - This accountmust have a balance of 0 at the end of the financial year, eg. Don'tKnow Or Not Listed accounts CLEAR - This account will automaticallyclear its balance at the end of the financial year Comments Any commentsrelevant to this account GST Split The Private Portion for this accountexpressed as a percentage Group ID What entity this account belongs to,see Appendix C SP Status Is this account a source account Retention Theaccount where the closing balance is to be retained. See EOY above CodeA code which determines how the information is stored for thetransaction that occur when this account is used as a destinationaccount, see Appendix D for a complete listing. Code Ex A code whichdetermines any extended properties of this account, see Appendix E for acomplete listing. Open Status Does this account require an openingbalance CR Total Opening credits on this account DR Total Opening debitson this account Saved Total This field is used internally for reports tostore a temporary balance for the account Must Select Does this accounthave to be included if its relevant entity is included as part of theproject Selected Is this account selected to be included in the projectTA This stores the Taxed Acquisition Percentage Percentage SourceDetermines if the account CAN be a source account, i.e. should it belisted in requester as part of the source account listing Acc ID Anumber that determines a unique identifier for this NEW account Setup -Account Changes Fields New Account The new account name for thisaccounts Name

In step 48, additional information that is relevant to an account detailis presented in order to alert the user of the appropriate detail to beentered. FIG. 6D shows examples of the additional information.

In step 50, the interface as shown in FIG. 6B is used to enter clientdetails for the client module. Below are some of the client details:

Field Description Owner Details Section Username The clients user nameCompany The clients company name Phone The clients phone number PasswordThe administration password for the database Serial Number Thisgenerated field is the code needed to install E-Mail The clients e-mailCompany Details Full Name The full name of the clients company TradingName The trading name of the clients company Address The address of theclients company ABN The ABN of the clients company GST Percentage TheGST percentage for the clients business Residency Rate The long termcommercial accommodation rate for the clients business AccountantVersion This option is checked if the database is for an accountantTemplate Version The major version number of the database Template SubThe minor version number of the database Version Accountant DetailsE-Mail The E-Mail address for the accountant to which this clientbelongs Trading Name The trading name for the accountant to which thisclient belongs Phone The phone number for the accountant to which thisclient belongs Server Host Name The name of the server for the liveversion (Phase 2) IP Address The IP Address of the server for the liveversion (Phase 2) Server Logon Name The initial logon name for the liveserver (Phase 2) Server Logon Passy The initial logon password for thelive server (Phase 2) Server Port The port to use when connecting to theserver (Phase 2) Server Version The minimum version number of the serverthat the database expects Update OBs This option should be checked ifthe opening balances need to be updated when the project is first openedin ECLAT

The step 52 allows the accountant to set up a new client module 12 andto add the account details to a template database, and any of theaccount details can be declared private and edited as illustrated insteps 54 to 58.

The step 60 is for maintaining reconciliation entries as shown below:

Field Description Reconciliation - Main Entry Recon ID An automaticallyfilled field which represents the ID number for this reconciliation Thecompany number for this reconciliation (reserved) Recon Start Thestarting date for the reconciliation Recon End The ending date for thereconciliation Recon Acc Name The account for which this reconciliationis for Closing CR Balance The closing credit balance for thereconciliation Closing DR Balance The closing debit balance for thereconciliation OS Balance The amount outstanding Opening Balance Openingbalance Closing Balance Closing balance Ledger Balance Ledger balanceReconciliation - Sub Entry Payment Amount of the payment Receipt Amountof the receipt Date Date of the balance Reference Reference informationOS Hidden Field - Is this entry outstanding Entry ID A unique identifierfor this entryThe group identification field in the account fields may be any of thefollowings: Group IDs

ID Description 0 Always included 1 Club or Association 2 Company 3Consolidation Adjustment 4 Manufacturing Account 5 Partnership 6 SoleTrader 7 Superannuation Fund 8 Trading Account 9 Trust Discretionary 10Trust UnitThe accounts codes has the following extensions identified as the “CodeEx” field in the accounts fields:

Account Codes Code Description CA Indicates whether the transactions forthis account will be capital on the business activity statement CG Costof Goods Sold II Indicates whether the transactions for this accountwill be instalment income on the business activity statement NA There isno extended functionality for this account OB Opening Balance(Private/Journal Use) OI Performs the same functionality as NA

A debugging process is used to debug and test the client module 12before packaging for delivery to the client.

When the client receives the new client module 12 it can be installed onhis computer and the module 12 is ready for use without the usual needto set up accounts and to allocate tax liabilities that is common in theprior art. Moreover, he needs not to learn new accounting terms as theaccount descriptions are the ones he is familiar with.

When the client module 12 such as a cash book module is set to operate,the module 12 performs a security check with the steps as shown in FIG.7A unless the security check procedure is disabled for this client. Ifthe client is allow to continue, a main interface is presented forselection of any one of the operation options. For examples, the“Receipt Entry” and “Payment Entry” options when selected would presentthe interfaces as shown respectively in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The module 12can be operated in either a client mode or an accountant (advisor) mode.If the client mode is operating, When operating in the client mode themodule 12 opens a local accounts database file for use and checks foropening balance update flag for performing the update operation whenthis flag is checked.

FIG. 7B shows the operational steps for both the “Payment Entry” or the“Receipt Entry” options as respectively shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. Whenin the “Receipt Entry” operation, a set of prompts appear such as theones shown in FIG. 8C for the client to provide appropriate informationfor calculating tax liabilities of the transaction. FIG. 7C shows thesteps for some of the prompts. Note that all the codes for the promptsare based on the I codes of the accounts codes. Embodiments of thereceipt prompts are as follows:

Receipt Questions

Field Description Amount withheld for failing to provide ABN (FIG. 8D)Will a compliant Tax Check box asking if a tax invoice will be Invoicebe Provided? provided, if it is provided you do not need to specify theAmount Withheld Amount Withheld Entry field for the amount which waswithheld Invoice Total This is the total of the transaction Amountwithheld for failing to provide a Tax File Number (FIG. 8E) TFNWithholding? Entry field for the amount which is withholding to your TFNTotal This is the total ledger amount of the transaction Tax Information(FIG. 8E) How much is taxable Entry field for the amount which istaxable supply? supply How much is PRE Jan. Entry field for the amountwhich is pre Jan. 7, 7, 2000? 2000 How much is export Entry field forthe amount which is export supply? supply How much is GST Free Entryfield for the amount which is GST free supply? supply How much is inputEntry field for the amount which is input taxed taxed? Amt Withheld forfailing Entry field for the amount for failing to provide to provideABN? an ABN Calculated Total This is the total of all other entry fieldsOriginal Total This is the total of the transaction Long-term CommercialAccommodation (FIG. 8F) How much from guests Entry field for the amountwhich was from who have stayed less guests who have stayed less than 28days than 28 days? Original Total This is the total of the transaction

FIG. 7D shows some of the prompts for the “Payment Entry” operation andan example of the interface for the payment prompts is illustrated inFIG. 8G. Note that all the codes for the payment prompts are based onthe E codes of the accounts codes. Embodiments of the payment promptsare as follows:

Pay Questions Field Description Amount Withheld (FIG. 8H) What is theamount This is where the user types in the amount withheld? withheldCalculated Total This is the total of the transaction Vehicle Details(FIG. 8I) How much is third This is where the user types in the amountthat party? was for third party How much is This is where the user typesin the amount that registration? was for registration Calculated TotalThis is the total of the transaction Payment Including Stamp Duty (FIG.8J) How much is stamp Entry field for the amount paid that was stampduty? duty How much is Taxed Entry field for the amount paid that wastaxed Acquisition? acquisition How much is GST Free? Entry field for theamount paid that was GST free Calculated Total This is the total of thetransaction Airfare Expenses (FIG. 8K) How much is airfare tax? Entryfield for the amount paid that was airfare How much is Taxed Entry fieldfor the amount paid that was taxed Acquisition? acquisition How much isGST Free? Entry field for the amount paid that was GST free CalculatedTotal This is the total of the transaction Taxed Acquisition (FIG. 8L)How much is Taxed Entry field for the amount paid that was taxedAcquisition? acquisition How much is Non Entry field for the amount paidthat was non Taxed Acquisition taxed acquisition How much is PRE Jan.Entry field for the amount paid that was before 7, 2000? Jan. 7, 2000How much is other? Entry field for the amount paid that does not belongin any other fields Original Amount This shows the entire amount for thecurrent item Calculated Total This is the total of the transaction LoanDetails (FIG. 8M) How much is interest? Entry field for the amount paidthat was interest How much is principal? Entry field for the amount paidthat was principal How much is stamp Entry field for the amount paidthat was stamp duty? duty Calculated Total This is the total of thetransaction Hire Purchase Details (FIG. 8N) How much is interest? Entryfield for the amount paid that was interest How much is principal? Entryfield for the amount paid that was principal How much is stamp Entryfield for the amount paid that was stamp duty? duty Calculated TotalThis is the total of the transaction Gross Wage (FIG. 8HO) What is theamount of Entry field for the amount paid that was tax tax withheld?withheld What is the amount of Entry field for the amount paid that wasother other withholdings? withholdings Calculated Total This is thetotal of the transaction Voluntary Agreement (FIG. 8P) How max taxwithheld? Entry field for the amount paid that was tax withheldCalculated Total This is the total of the transaction Instalment withall GST Paid up Front (FIG. 8Q) How much is stamp Entry field for theamount paid that was stamp duty? duty How much is GST? Entry field forthe amount of GST on the transaction Instalment amount? Entry field forthe instalment amount Calculated Total This is the total of thetransaction

Referring now to FIG. 8R which shows an interface for the bankreconciliation operation. The steps for the reconciliation operation areshown in FIG. 7E and FIG. 7F.

The client module 12 has a report operation wherein the client canselect any of a number of reports to be displayed or printed. FIG. 8Sshows an embodiment of an interface for configuring the module 12 todisplay a report for payments. As can be seen, the client can select asource account and nominates the period of weeks for the report. Whereapplicable, the report can be limited to payment transaction activitiesof a department or branch. FIG. 8T is an example showing parts of thepayment report. Other examples are FIG. 8U for a Pay As You Go (PAYG)report, FIG. 8V for a Summary report, FIG. 8W for a GST audit report,FIG. 8X for a BAS statement report and FIG. 8Y for an accounts balancereport.

The system 10 has a general ledger unit 20 for each advisor accountantmodule 13. The ledger unit 20 has a main interface as shown in FIG. 9A.The operational steps of the ledger main interface are shown in FIG. 9B.The main interface has a journal edit option for the accountant to edita selected journal entry as shown in steps 80 and 82. A journal reportoption in step 84 allows details of the journal entries to be reportedas shown in FIG. 9D. FIG. 9E shows a GST audit report generated byselecting the step 86 option. Account opening balance reports as shownin FIG. 9E are produced through step 88. A delete function 90 isprovided for deleting the current journal entry.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of the system 10 where the administrationmodule 14 is also a transaction coordinator, and is arranged to transferpurchase orders from client modules 12 of clients wishing to placeorders for products to be supplied from known suppliers who are alsousing the client modules 12 for transactions. The suppliers on receivingthe purchase orders convert them to sales orders and then take steps toobtained the ordered products from warehouses or to place productionorders. Delivery and transportation are then arranged for delivery ofthe products. Invoices are also generated and transferred to thecoordinator 14. When the clients ordering the products have finallyreceived them, they will flag that to the coordinator 14 and to add theproducts to inventory. In time, remittances would be sent to the accrualcoordinator 14 for making payments to the suppliers.

FIG. 10A shows a standard cost process which is used by the client(cashbook) modules 12 of the system 10 shown in FIG. 10 for checkingvariances between standard costs and actual costs of products.

FIG. 10B is an overview flow diagram of an accrual arrangement of thesystem 10. As can be seen, a user can select any of the operationsconnected with a customer list, an inventory, reports and transactions.When the transactions operation is selected, the client mules 12 canperform operations relating to debtors invoice generating, credit notegenerating and payments. Transaction balance is also calculated byadjustments thereof.

FIG. 10C shows the operational steps for the invoice generatingoperation for ordered products. The invoice generating operation onreceiving a “create Invoice” selection displays an interface from whicha customer for invoicing can be selected. The products ordered by thiscustomer are then selected from a product list with their unit price.Any discount arrangement for this customer is also retrieved. The module12 then extracts GST payable for the products and determines thedelivery address from the customer list. If the ordered products are foran overseas destination, GST is not applied. The general ledger is thenupdated with the net sale value and where applicable allocated with thediscount and the GST. Costs of sale are then posted to the generalledger and the inventory before saving the invoiced values to the module12.

FIG. 10D shows the steps of an debtor payment operation.

FIG. 10E shows the steps of a debtor credit note operation. The stepsinclude selecting and displaying the invoice for making adjustment,updating the inventory if the product is returned, and adjusting pricesand quantity. The general ledger is also adjusted in respect of costs ofsale, GST and net sale value. For overseas destinations, the exportorders are reallocated. If the goods are for local delivery then the GSTis readjusted before ouputting a debit note.

FIG. 10F shows the steps in a debtor sales order operation. Thisoperation allows an operator to select a customer making the order andto select the products and quantity thereof for delivery by a specifiedmethod and date. The system checks for availability of the orderedproducts. If available, a products pick list is created followed by adelivery docket for dispatch. If the ordered products are not availablethen a back order is created.

FIG. 10G shows the steps of a purchase order operation.

FIG. 10H shows the steps of a creditor payment operation.

FIG. 10I shows an embodiment of the system 10 arranged for use as anextended point of sale. As can be seen the system 10 has some clientmodule 12 functioning as customers and some functioning as suppliers.When a customer module 12 is used to make a purchase, the client selectsproducts for the order as shown in FIG. 10G. The customer moduleprocesses the selected products to build a purchase order with thecustomer's global identifier created as shown by the steps in FIG. 10L.The purchase order is sent to the administration module 14 forprocessing as shown in FIG. 10J. The module 14 extracts relevantinformation from the purchase order and forwards the order to thesupplier module 12 identified in the order. The supplier module 12 onreceiving the order coverts it into a sales order and processes it asshown in FIG. 10F. A tax invoice is then raised and sent to theadministration module 14. The invoice includes the supplier's globalidentity.

The administration module 14 extracts relevant details from the invoiceand locate the customer module 12 for sending it to the customer. SeeFIG. 10K.

When the customer module 12 receives the invoice, it performs a checkingstep for a match with the purchase order. GST details of the purchasedproducts are extracted from a product list for updating the generalledger.

As shown in FIG. 10M, any of the supplier modules 12 can build a productavailability list and send it to the administration module 14 forprocessing it in a manner for access by the customer modules 12 as shownin FIG. 10N.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of thepresent invention many variations and modifications thereto will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the broadambit and scope of the invention as herein set forth in the followingclaims.

1. An accounting system, comprising: a plurality of client modules; anadministration module for administering said plurality of clientmodules; and at least one adviser module associated with at least one ofsaid plurality of client modules, the administration module beingadapted for installation on an administration computer server and eachclient module being configured by the administration module to operateaccording to configuration information and generated for installation ona client computer unit(s) remote from the administrator computer server,the administration module, the plurality of client modules and the atleast one adviser module being arranged for communication over acommunications network, the administration module having i) requestingmeans arranged to receive from at least one of the at least one advisermodule and a user, accounts configuration information for configuring arequested client module and, where nominated, to associate an advisermodule with the requested client module, ii) scripting means arrangedfor the user and adviser module to script and edit an accountdescription for association with a nominated account and a descriptionfor association with an accounts item within said nominated account,iii) information obtaining means arranged to present on the requestingadviser module and a requesting client computer unit prompt messagesrelevant to an entity type category and a business type categorynominated by at least one of the requesting adviser module and the userand to extract information provided to the prompt messages for inclusioninto the configuration information, iv) a master chart of accounts fromwhich client accounts with matching entity type category and businesstype category contained in the configuration information are extracted,and v) accounts generating means for generating the requested clientmodule configured with at least one client chart of accounts inaccordance with the extracted accounts; each one of the plurality ofclient modules having transaction entry means for entering transactionrecords, pre-assigned transaction category codes being stored on astorage medium, means for selecting a pre-assigned category code toassociate with a transaction record to be entered through thetransaction entry means, and at least one client chart of accounts forselection of an account to which the transaction record is to beassociated, the accounts being predetermined by the information providedto the prompt messages in consideration of at least one of tax liabilityoptions for transactions and in accordance with accounts of the entitytype category and the business type category prenominated in theconfiguration information, each of said accounts including apre-allocated unique account identification and an account descriptionwhich is prescribed by at least one of the adviser module, the user, andgenerally adopted by traders with matching entity type category andbusiness type category, and each of said category codes beingpre-specified in the configuration information as one of a taxed andnon-taxed category, and as one of an expenditure and income transactiontype, the administration module having a suppliers database containingclient modules nominated as suppliers of certain product types andarranged for any client module to access the suppliers database forselecting a supplier of a product type and being arranged to present,upon selection of a supplier client module, a list of products of theselected supplier client module, and a coordination unit arranged forcoordinating transaction activities between a purchasing client moduleand a supplier client module, each client module being allocated with aunique client reference and each product of a supplier client modulehaving a product reference associated with the client reference of thesupplier client module, and each client module being adapted to accessthe suppliers database at the administration module and select at leastone product of a selected supplier client module and to transfer apurchase order for the selected product(s) through the coordination unitto the selected supplier client module, the purchase order including theclient reference of the purchasing client module, the client referenceof the supplier client module and the product reference(s) of theselected product(s), the supplier client module being adapted to extractthe client and product references in the purchase order forincorporation into a sales order.
 2. The system according to claim 1,wherein said business type category including trading activitiesinvolving the provision of goods and services relating to any class ofbusiness.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein each client modulehaving means for obtaining information relevant to tax liabilities ofthe transaction records, said information obtaining means having atleast one prompt associated with each of a plurality transactioncategory codes that have tax liabilities, and being arranged to presentthe associated at least one prompt for entering information relevant totax liabilities when one of said category code is nominated for atransaction to be entered, and to extract the entered information forallocating tax liabilities of the transaction.
 4. The system accordingto claim 3, wherein said at least one prompt is in the form of at leastone leading question for prompting the client to enter said relevant taxliability information in a designated location(s), and the client modulebeing arranged to extract the entered information at said designatedlocation(s) and apply a tax liability determination procedure which isspecific for extracted information from said designated location(s). 5.The system according to claim 1, wherein the client module having reportgenerating means arranged to access the entered transaction records forgenerating accounting reports.
 6. The system according to claim 5,wherein the report generating means including a report selectionarrangement for selecting any one of a number of accounting reports forgeneration.
 7. The system according to claim 5, wherein at least one ofsaid taxed category codes is pre-allocated to taxation segments for ataxation report, being one of the accounting reports.
 8. The systemaccording to claim 7, wherein said taxation report is a BusinessActivity Statement (BAS) that complies with the Goods and Services Tax(GST).
 9. The system according to claim 1, wherein where a taxedcategory code having a variable taxation allocation is entered, a windowwith appropriate prompts for specifying amounts to be allocated ispresented for entering the amounts.
 10. The system according to claim 9,wherein the category code is associated with a wage account in saidclient chart of accounts.
 11. The system according to claim 1, furtherhaving storage means for storing the transaction records and is arrangedfor accessing bank statement records over the communications network.12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the client module havingreconciliation means for reconciling said stored transaction recordswith the bank statement records.
 13. The system according to claim 1,wherein said at least one adviser module having report generating meansbeing arranged to access transaction records transferred from anassociated client module for generating accounting reports andmanagement reports.
 14. The system according to claim 13, wherein thereport generating means including a report selection arrangement forselecting any one of a number of accounting and management reports forgeneration.
 15. The system according to claim 1, wherein the clientchart of accounts is locked so that the account identifications and theaccount descriptions therein cannot be altered by the user.
 16. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the administration module having atransaction code generating means for generating the transaction codesas specified by the adviser.
 17. The system according to claim 1,wherein the coordination unit is arranged to use the client referencesto transfer a subsequently received invoice for the sales order from thesupplier client module to the purchasing client module.
 18. The systemaccording to claim 17, wherein record of payment of the invoice istransfer through the administration module so that the coordination unitcommunicates to the supplier client module a record that the invoice hasbeen settled.
 19. The system according to claim 18, wherein storagemeans being arranged to store transaction information between suppliersand purchasers, and the coordination unit being arranged to automatepurchase orders when stocks for transactions are below predeterminedlevels.
 20. The system according to claim 1, wherein each said pluralityof client modules is associated with said at least one adviser module sothat the transaction records stored in the client module of theassociated client(s) can be accessed remotely.
 21. The system accordingto claim 1, wherein the client module is one of a cash book module, anaccrual module, a combined cash book and accrual module, a payrollmodule, a point of sale module, and any combination of two or more ofsaid modules.